Yup, right from the horse’s mouth, comes this statement that the Obama Administration believes that cutting brokers out of the health insurance equation is the right thing to do.

Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Obama’s director of White House of Health Reform, speaking during a recent media briefing, said of health care reform: “A public plan is something that’s sponsored by the government, and therefore has very low or almost nonexistent administrative costs, compared to others. It doesn’t have the need to have brokers out selling; it wouldn’t have the need to have a lot of costs and profits, the way private plans would. So it has that advantage.”

This from an Oxford- and Harvard-educated professional who served under President Clinton as head of the Health Financing Administration, which today is known as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies.

It sounds as if some of the old Hillary-Healthcare speak is back in practice.

No one has been immune from the devastating effects of the U.S. recession, especially not older Americans who expected to spend their final years flush with money from our booming economy.  What seemed commonplace last year at this time is gone, as are savings and other assets for many seniors.

In response, a senior citizens group, the Senior Citizens Bureau, which boasts that it is the largest non-profit organization for seniors, has formed a partnership with LocalAdvisorConnection.com to provide provides leads on pre-screened financial advisors, as well as CPAs and estate planning attorneys, so its members can restore their finances and prepare for their futures, according to a statement. In addition to financial planning help, the SCB has a partnership with FuneralResources.com to help its members better understand and plan their funerals.

With seniors among those hit hardest by the latest economic downturn, it’s good to see efforts to help them recover before it’s too late.

In two separate articles appearing on IFAwebnews.com, the heads of two major insurers see a bright future.

Despite a disappointing 2008 and amid rumors that his firm could sell its property-casualty and life insurance arms — which its CEO denies — Hartford sees hope for a better 2009.

And the top dog at CNA says that his firm is poised to significantly expand operations in the U.S.

According to IFAwebnews.com, the maximum contributions, out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles will all rise modestly in 2010.

The former head of the National Association of Professional Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and a local Financial Planning Association (FPA) chapter has been accused in a $1.2 million fraud and kickback scheme, according to the Appleton Post-Crescent in Wisconsin. A story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal goes into more detail.

The website for James E. Putnam, CFP, states that he is past-president of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) 1996-1997, NAPFA Board 1995-1996, and co-Founder and first president of the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP) – now the Financial Planning Association.

According to a story on IFAwebnews.com, CEOs of major life carriers say they are interested in obtaining new blocks of business.

The IRS has announced its new maximum contribution levels for Health Savings Accounts for next year, according to an article at IFAwebnews.com.

Suze Orman – the highly touted TV financial advice personality and author who is vilified by many professional financial advisors — is being sued for fraud.

According to a juicy Forbes article, the firm bearing Orman’s name is facing a suit involving a long-term care insurance policy. The article goes into some other areas, including claims that Orman has not actively practiced financial planning for years. Interestingly, a recent New York Times Magazine article featuring the media’s financial darling did not mention the pending litigation.

As if we didn’t already know they were in trouble, this story from the Associated Press states that Social Security and Medicare could crumble even sooner due to the current economic situation.

The CPR (Conservatives for Patients’ Rights) posted a short video on its website allowing those who have had to beg the governments of Canada and England for health care a chance to speak their mind. During the very short video, one woman states that there is only so much money “in the pot” for health care for its citizens, so those who are likely to die will not get care. Click here for its website.

Read the rest of this entry »

Many of my recent blog postings have been reprints from national associations that are attempting to thwart a runaway Congress that is determined to undermine the livelihood of life and health insurance agents.

The latest is from the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), which sent an urgent email memo to members encouraging them to sent a note to President Obama, Vice President Biden, and their state senators. The email espouses the view of NAHU, which is concerned about proposed health reform legislation that might negate the role of health insurance agents.

I would encourage everyone who reads this and values the role of agents to click the link below, and fill out the form that will send the email along. The form will automatically send it to your state senators based on the home address that you use. It takes less than one minute to fill it out.

While many of us talk about doing something, this is one super-easy way to make your voice heard in Washington.

Click here for the link.

Drip, drip, drip.

The faucet to the nation’s health plans is leaking. Health insurance companies continue to make big concessions to Congress, offering up previously non-negotiable aspects of their health insurance model, in the hopes of halting any plans for a public-only health insurance system, according to an IFAwebnews.com article.

It’s survival mode for America’s Health Insurance Plans, which represents 1,500 managed care companies, serving 200 million Americans. First, the group said it would support a “coverage-for-all” option, despite pre-existing conditions, for a universal health mandate. Now, it is pledging to end higher premiums for women as talks of a government-run insurance plan progress.

Before long, it will offer to give up collecting fees in return for retaining its name.

These concessions show how seriously the nation’s health care companies are about ensuring that a public-health insurance model isn’t the final result of Congress’ health care reform package.

Drip, drip, drip. Leaky faucets always require costly repairs in the end. This situation will be no different.

American International Group CEO Edward Liddy has put the exclamation point on the demise of what was once the world’s largest insurer. Speaking to Reuters last week, Liddy said, “AIG will never again be the world’s largest insurer. Pretty soon you will have a much smaller AIG. And what is left will look a whole lot different than it does today.”

As the company continues an asset sell-off to pay back the nearly $170 billion in U.S. government aid, Liddy says as many as 40 federal employees are roaming AIG offices each day. How depressing that must be for those who built the once mighty AIG.

Health insurance, travel insurance, business interruption coverage, even workers comp: Could these be affected by a widespread outbreak of swine flu?

While the outbreak of swine flu has reached an epidemic (and thankfully not a pandemic) stage, everyone should at least be knowledgeable about how it could affect the U.S.

Several local schools in my area are closing because of the outbreak, and state agencies are preparing in th event of a widespread outbreak among state workers.

While the sickness is relatively mild and lethal only to the vulnerable or those with pre-existing conditions, at least one expert says that insurance agents should be prepared for concerns from their policyholders. Read his comments in this story posted at IFAwebnews.com.

In addition, the CPCU Society has scheduled a ‘webninar’ to address what should be done from a human resources perspective if it does turn into a pandemic, meaning that from 25-75 percent of the world’s workforce could be absent. What does that mean for business, the supply chain, and the insurance industry’s responsibilities? To read more or register for the May 7 online event, click here.

NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors) sent out another alert recently outlining tax ramifications of life settlement transactions. Following is the text from that alert, along with NAIFA’s take on the subject:

Action Taken: On May 1, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued two revenue rulings on the taxation of life settlement transactions. Revenue Ruling 2009-13 deals with the seller’s tax liability when he/she sells an insurance policy. Revenue Ruling 2009-14 addresses the tax consequences on the buyer of a life insurance policy that is part of a life settlement transaction. Read the rest of this entry »

Businessman, commentator and comedian Ben Stein praises disability insurance and insurance agents in an essay about sales in the April 25 edition of the New York Times.

“An insurance broker came to call on my wife about disability insurance,” Stein wrote. “I scoffed at him and told him how incredibly unlikely it was that a healthy woman like my wife would ever be disabled. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘That’s what we think, too. That’s why it’s so cheap and pays so much if she does get disabled.’”

Stein adds, “I bought the policy, and when my wife did get temporarily disabled, it paid off magnificently and we needed it.”

The full column, “The Sales Profession: Attention Must Still Be Paid,” is available at this link.

Just in time for Disability Insurance Awareness Month - May.